FINDSPARK COMMUNITY SUCCESS STORIES

Mohammad Bolatero, Digital Marketing / Social Media Intern at Two TreesCommunity member and Hustle Summit Fellow Mohammad found out about the internship at Two Trees through the FindSpark job board. He applied and eventually got the job!

September 29, 2016

Kaila Kane, PR Intern at ASTRSKPR
Hustle Summit Fellow Kaila applied to ASTRSK PR through the FindSpark job board, and was offered an accelerated internship at the company with the potential to become an Assistant Account Executive. She says, "I started participating in FindSpark events/webinars in January, and two months later I can say that I've found a job and am officially moving to New York!"

March 22, 2017

Christina Waterman, Associate Producer for the Shorty Awards
Christina, a Hustle Summit Scholar, used the FindSpark job board to apply for a freelance position at the Shorty Awards and got the job! She was recently brought on full-time.

March 22, 2017

Matthew Reich, Film Marketing Intern at Allied Integrated Marketing
FindSpark member Matthew attended Hustle Summit in New York City, where he met with reps from Allied Integrated Marketing. He was later hired as their newest Film Marketing Intern!

April 4, 2017

Tiffany Hui, Content Manager, Global Emerging Accounts at BrandwatchTiffany attended Hustle Summit in New York City with her sister Melissa, a longtime member and Hustle Summit Fellow. She connected with Brandwatch at the event, and got the job a few months later!

April 4, 2017

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“Where Are The Women?” A Look at Sports, Tech, and Media.

Team FindSpark had the pleasure of attending the S.H.E. Summit at the 92nd Street Y in New York on June 5-6th. At a panel titled “Where Are the Women? A Look at Industries: Sports, Tech, Media & Beyond” three groundbreaking women spoke about their experiences in male dominated fields. The panel featured Simona De Silvestro, Race Car Driver, Justine Aitel, Head of Cyber Risk for Dow Jones, and Evy Poumpouras, Security and Investigative National News Contributor and Former Secret Service Special Agent. The panel was moderated by Maureen Sullivan, President of AOL.com & Lifestyle Brands.

Right off the bat, Aitel jumped in by discussing the lack of role models for girls in many industries, including her own. “In technology in particular, there are really no role models for young girls to look up to.” When girls don’t have role models to look up to in the field, they are less likely to see that career as a viable option and more likely to choose another career where women are well represented.

A big issue that the panelists focused on is stereotypes that women face in male dominated industries. Poumpouras chimed in saying that she faced these stereotypes head on when becoming a Secret Service Agent.

“I was told I wasn’t wanted there,” Poumpouras says. But she decided to stay, and prove the men wrong. She trained even harder and qualified at the male standard, even performing better than some of her male colleagues. “When you endure these stereotypes, what sets you apart is how you react to it. I didn’t react. I maintained my professionalism.”

De Silvestro echoes Poumpouras’ idea that women sometimes have to prove that they are good enough. “I wanted to be the person who was good at what I do and be known for that,” she says. She wanted to prove that women “can do the job as good, or even better, than the guys.”

“We put women in a box,” Aitel adds. “that we think they should stay in.”

It seems challenging to fight these stereotypes head on and brave the way for future women, but the panelists had some advice on how to break out of “the box.”

Poumpouras says that you should work to gain the respect of you colleagues, but don’t expect everyone to give you the respect you deserve. Some people will always look down on you because you are a woman. Don’t let that get to you. “You’re going to hear no’s, but stay focused,” says Poumpouras. No matter what others say, keep your professionalism and do your best.

She also says that women need to be “braver and bolder.” “We feel we have to ask permission to do what we want to do,” she says, but that’s not true.

De Silvestro closes saying, “If you want it and work hard at it, you can achieve it, whatever it is.”

Have you faced stereotypes in a male dominated field? Tell us about it in the comments!

Katie grew up in Maine, but knew she belonged in NYC. She studies journalism and sociology at Hofstra University and has a passion for social media. She consumes coffee (usually Starbucks) at all hours of the day and constantly posts cat pictures online.

About FindSpark

FindSpark is a community dedicated to setting up young professionals for career success and connecting employers to top, diverse young professional talent.

Since forming in 2011, FindSpark has become the largest Meetup group for interns and recent grads in the country, hosting over 250 events for more than 25,000 members.

FindSpark is proud to be a certified Women-Owned Business Enterprise (WBE).

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